This letter has been nicely written. Only I like to add that Britains famed Industrial Revolution perhaps wouldnt have been possible if Britain didnt embark upon colonizing nations and looting them. ASG Letters to the Editor The Statesman 28 Oct 2014 Globalisation and developmental goals SIR, Thanks for publishing Govind Bhattacharjee article, ‘A New Global Financial Order?’ (20 October). It was really analytical and enlightening. He has pointed out that regional alliances and bilateral treaties are absolutely essential if developing countries are to pursue their primary development goals, instead of being forced around into the agendas of the developed nations by jumping onto the globalisation bandwagon. It is worth noting that the developed countries ~ the UK, the USA, Denmark, Germany, Sweden ~ had a tightly controlled protectionist economy in the past. The USA from the 1830s to the 1940s and the UK from the 1720s to the 1850s had pursued protectionist policies to incubate their ‘infant’ industrial economy. During that period, protectionism, subsidies, regulation and state ownership of industries were key features of their economies. It was only in the 1860s that Britain for the first time, adopted free-trade policies in its domestic market, when its industrial dominance in the world was absolute. Even today, these countries strictly guard their labour markets which itself is in conflict with the ‘free-movement’ principle of Western neo-liberalism. While acknowledging its advantages, it cannot be ignored how the globalisation doctrine has over time become a tool of economic imperialism by the west. The global economic policies have consistently worked towards minimising the role of the welfare-state and eventually the nation-state, to perpetuate the neo-imperial interests of a privileged few rather than the neo-liberal interests of all. As the monopoly of the West over the global economy seems to be cracking, there is certainly need for a more inclusive system of international economic governance. It will be interesting to see if alliances like BRICS can potentially open up the current world economic system into a more inclusive one. Yours, etc., Sushant Jain, New Delhi, 24 October.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 18:57:57 +0000
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